The present invention relates to a magneto-optical recording medium in which a recording layer is formed of rare earth element and transition metal element having an amorphous state.
A magneto-optical recording is known in which the signal is recorded on a magneto-optical recording layer having perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in the direction of magnetization and a signal thus recorded is reproduced by irradiating with a linearly polarized light beam and detecting rotation of polarization caused by the interaction with the magnetization. One example of the magneto-optical recording layer is an amorphous alloy of a rare earth element and a transition metal element.
The applicant proposed an improved magneto-optical recording medium having a multi layer structure formed of the rare earth element and the transition metal element, in the aforementioned patent applications. The magneto-optical recording medium had an improved coercive force and rectangular ratio over the prior art magneto-optical recording medium having uniform mixture of the rare earth and transition metal elements.